


Always, Always

by lightbroke



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Angst, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-29 09:26:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12627951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightbroke/pseuds/lightbroke
Summary: After both boys have a rather difficult and long day, they come home to each other.





	Always, Always

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Twitter @lightbroke  
> I'm currently taking prompt suggestions on Twitter for inspiration so feel free to hmu in my mentions if you have an idea!

“Put it down.” The door clicked softly behind the tall Shadowhunter.

“Since when do you tell me what to do?” The voice replied, masked, pained, but worst of all distant.

“Look at yourself.”

“I’ve been trying not to.”

“ _Magnus_.” Alec took a step forward tentatively.

“Alexander, _don’t_.” He held his index finger up. Alec swore he saw a glimmer of threatening blue magic. That had never happened before. Magnus had never threatened him like that.

“No, Magnus.” The sheen of blue didn’t scare Alec. Magnus could never scare him. He loved him too much to be scared. He took another step forward, setting his gear belt down by the coat rack as always. _As always, as always, Magnus is my as always_ , he told himself. “What’s going on?” His tone softened as he saw how hard his other half was trying to keep himself together; glued with bad thoughts, ill intentions, and alcohol.

“What always happens, Alexander. We lose. We wake up and tell ourselves things will be better but it’s all a grand lie. We wake up. Tell the morning we’ll win today. And in return what do we receive? Heartache. Pain. Torture.”

“You had a client today.” Alec said, remembering their shared calendar that clung to their refrigerator.

**November 3 rd, 2017: Magnus – client @ 3pm // Alec – Institute 4am-6pm**

“How observant.” Magnus’s walls flew back up as he poured himself another drink. It would make more sense to drink straight from the bottle but he was above that, had more class than to cradle his addiction so obviously.

“And it didn’t go well.” Alec was grasping at straws.

“Wow. No wonder they made you the Head of the Institute.” Magnus’ upper lip curled as he swallowed another two fingers worth of whiskey. It no longer burned but felt smooth and welcoming, beckoning him to ingest more.

“Magnus, please. I’m trying here.” Alec finally sat beside him. As much as he wanted to pry the bottle and tumbler away from him, he left them both in Magnus’ hands.

“I know.” Magnus replied after a beat. “I know, Alexander. _I know_.” His tone was remorseful and broken. The anger was purely an act. “Greed will always be the downfall of man whether they’re mundane or of the Shadow World.” Alec teetered on the edge. He was so close to figuring out how to help Magnus but knew if he asked the wrong thing his boyfriend would clam up again. The boy chose silence, offering the Warlock time to unwind and reveal what was plaguing his mind.

The silence lingered heavy and suffocating, pressing down on the men with repressive distraught emotion. “I think I’m going to close my side business for a while and just focus on being High Warlock. There’s no need for the extra income. I suppose that is greed upon my own behalf.” Magnus finished his glass. “Greed.”

“Magnus,” Alec took his hand, gaze molten hazel and sad. “Please let me in. I can’t make sense of this puzzle.” He himself had had a long day at work dealing with the Clave and training and then patrolling the city.

With a long breath, Magnus withdrew his hand but not before offering Alec a squeeze. “It was a regular.” Alec knew he wasn’t going to get specifics; the two remained confidential with their working lives for the sake of safety of each other and their respective parties. “They wanted more than I was willing to give. They thought I was playing a game with them. That I was making them come back again, to pay me again, so I could give them more.” Tears welled up in the corner of Magnus’ eyes. “Why everyone thinks I’m such a monster is beyond me. _I help_ , I don’t play games. I never have. Even when I was younger and foolish and flippant with cash.” Magnus’ glamoured eyes closed. A tear slipped out the corner. When he reopened his eyes, Alec saw the gold tint of cat eyes and knew he’d broken through. “They jumped into the pentagram. I didn’t think to ward it since I’d worked with them so much in the past. They jumped through and the demon consumed them–– ** _Alec_** ,” Magnus gripped the Shadowhunter’s hands. “I can still hear their screams. No one is built to be ripped into Edom like that. Especially not them.”

 _A mundane or a vampire or a wolf. Well not a vampire because the meeting was during the day,_ Alec said to himself before shaking the curious train of thought away. He refocused and cupped Magnus’ cheek. “ _You are not greedy._ You thought you knew them. They played _you_ , Magnus. They took advantage of you. To make such a rash and monumental decision…they knew coming in you weren’t going to give them what they wanted. No one just jumps into the arms of a demon. At least no on in their right mind. This isn’t your fault.” Alec removed the bottle of whiskey and sat it on the floor beside an empty one. Then he moved the glass tumbler to the coffee table. “Look at me.” He bowed his head to catch Magnus’ tearful gaze. “This is not your fault. They used you. They knew you wouldn’t let them abuse your power for more so they used you. I’m sorry this happened.” All he could do was offer comfort in the wake of the echoed screams Magnus said he still heard.

Arms tightly wound around him, Alec held Magnus as his shoulders shook and the neck of Alexander’s shirt grew damp with sadness.

“As always, I was played a fool.” Magnus mumbled, half sleepily.

“You are no fool. You’re the High Warlock of Brooklyn." 

“Some High Warlock I am, killing clients. I’m sure Hell was made happy today. I basically wined and dined them.” He let out a self deprecating laugh.

 

With his left arm, Alec scooped beneath Magnus’ knees, and with his right arm, balanced it against his back. “We’ve had a long day.” Carrying him to their bathroom, he sat him on the counter. Quietly, Alec worked to replicate Magnus’ routine. He washed his own hands and then took two makeup wipes out of the container. With a tender touch he wiped at Magnus’ eyes and eyeliner streaked cheeks. The glitter eyeshadow was proving difficult to remove but eventually he got it off too. Next Alec knew was night cream but by the Angel there were so many options he wasn’t sure which so he skipped it. Instead, he went straight to unbuttoning Magnus’ shirt. So many buttons, so little time. When Magnus’ bare chest was revealed Alec sat his hand over his heart. “I’m sorry for today.” With his left hand he tilted Magnus’ chin upwards and placed a soft kiss on his lips. Alec continued to disrobe him, scooting him off the counter and guiding him to the bedroom for his pajamas.

“Here, take this. You’ll thank me tomorrow morning.”

“Warlocks do not need Advil.” Magnus tutted, propped against a thousand pillows, arms crossed.

“Then pretend it’s not Advil, babe.” Alec chuckled, placing the pill in Magnus’ hand and a glass of water in the other. “Drink up.” After a minute long glare, he did just that, scowling the entire time.

Alec eased into bed beside Magnus. His stomach grumbled but he opted to ignore it until his better half was fast asleep. That’s when he’d sneak into the kitchen for a sandwich or three. It had been Magnus’ night to cook dinner but the night took another turn. “Want to watch old movies until we fall asleep?”

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s?”

“Always.” Alec grabbed the remote and hit play on their taped recording of their all time favourite bedtime film. “Hey,” he said after a few minutes in. Magnus looked at him, cat eyes dilating. Alec could see the reflection of the television against the blackness of his pupils. “I love you. I want you to know that. I’ll continue to love you no matter what.”

“Always?” Magnus asked after a long calculating stare. Alec nodded.


End file.
